ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Patriotic Flip Flops

ILoveToCreate
Patriotic Flip-Flops
Copyright Margot Potter
"Mom crafted, kid approved."

Who doesn't like to feel patriotic without feeling like a dork? Teens, that's who! I'm a fan of seasonal accessories as long as you don't start too look like someone on The People of WalMart blog. It's a fine line, people. These festive flip-flops are the perfect combination of '4th of July festive' and 'fashionista friendly.' They can be modified to suit the rest of the summer months with a little color change, so don't feel like they're only good for one day. Though for me, being patriotic isn't a one day event. Your teens will have a blast making these. Avalon pounced on them before the glue was even dry. I guess I'll have to make my own pair before the holiday!



Materials
Rubber Flip-Flops (I got my classic pair at Target)
3/10" wide navy blue ribbon with white stitching
1/4" wide dark red rick rack trim
2" wooden craft stars
2 silver-plated head pins or 20 gauge silver-plated craft wire
Aleene's Liquid Fusion Glue
Aleene's Jewelry and Metal Glue
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Big Phat fabric marker blue
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Pack paint white
8492-L Dawn Hauser Star rubber stamp from Inkadinkado
Elasticity clear stretch elastic cord

Tools
Brayer
Round nose pliers
Flush cutters
Non stick craft sheet
Electric drill with 1/16" bit



1. Use fabric marker to color star top and sides blue. Allow to dry.



2. Use brayer or foam applicator to spread paint on a non-stick sheet or directly on surface of stamp. Test print. Stamp on the stars. Allow to dry.


3. Glue blue ribbon trim to center of flip flop straps, starting at the bottom of the strap, tucking the ribbon into the space at the bottom and working your way to the center. It doesn't have to be pretty, the stars will cover it.


4. Glue rick-rack trim to center of blue ribbon again starting at the bottom of each strap, tucking the ribbon in and working to the front. Allow to dry.

5. Drill a hole in the center of each star.

6. Wrap rick rack trim around three times to create a 1 3/4" ribbon shape. There should be two loops on each ribbon.



7. Make a large loop at the top of a head pin, thread the center of your ribbon into the loop and secure it with the chain nose pliers. Thread this into the center of the star.


8. Use round nose pliers to create a loop flush to the back of each star, cut off excess wire before looping. The wire should be approximately 1/4" long before you grasp it with your round nose pliers at the end and wrap it around the jaw creating a round loop. Make sure the loop is secured closed.

9. Thread a 2.5" segment of Elasticity into the loop at the back of the star and around the front end of one side of the strap on your flip-flop. Tie it into a double knot (follow link for image.) Dab the knot with some jeweler's glue. Repeat for the other side of the same strap to secure the star. Repeat for second flip flop. Allow glue to dry before wearing flip-flops.

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Super Star Sneakers

ILovetoCreate Teen Crafts
Super Star Sneakers
Guest Crafter Avalon Potter for Margot Potter
“Kid crafted, mom approved.”

The problem with most kid and teen craft projects is that they’re created by adults. We’d like to think that we can still look back at our wild youth and know what it’s like to be a teen, and on some levels, we can, but we’re viewing through an adult lens. I love to see what happens when the adults step back and let the kids create.

You know what?

They really kick some crafty butt!

They have fewer filters, less of a need to please and they just do what they like. I bought a grey pair of Converse All Stars a while back with the intention of tricking them out for this column, but I got busy with other ideas and in the meantime Avalon wore the sneakers. So they were no longer pristine and new...which is how she likes them.

She asked if she could create the teen craft project for today and I said, “YES!” So these fabulous sneakers are 100% Avalon. She used a variety of Tulip Graffiti products and some Tulip Glam it Up crystals to make a really rockin’ pair of shoes. Go Avalon! I think if adults can give kids more room for creativity, they’ll always surprise us.

Materials
Low top tennis shoes
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Big Phat Fabric Markers in Pink and Black
Tulip Fashion Graffiti stencil in chain link fence pattern
Tulip Fashion Graffiti stencil puffy graffiti letters
43 Glam it Up iron on crystals in crystal
Tulip 3-D fashion paint in silver

Aleene's Platinum Bond Glass and Bead Slick Surfaces Adhesive

Tools
Tulip Cordless Heat Styling Tool

Toothpick with beeswax on end or tweezers
Non stick sheet or newspaper

1. Select your shoes and remove the laces.

2. Use the pink marker to stencil on one side of each shoe with the chain link fence pattern. Stencil in black on the opposite side.

3. Use the letter stencil and the silver dimensional paint to add your initials to one side of each shoe.



4. Freehand hearts, peace signs and butterflies using the dimensional paint.

5. Use the markers to color your shoe laces, one pink and one black.


6. Add crystal accents on both sides of shoe using the applicator and add 6 crystals to the back seam on each shoe. Be careful, it gets really hot!

7. Use glue to attach a crystal smiley face to the toes of the shoes. Dip the crystal into the glue carefully using a toothpick with beeswax or tweezers to hold the crystal and then attach to the shoe. Wipe off excess glue and allow to dry.

Star-Spangled Shirt

The 4th of July just wouldn't be complete without a red, white and blue outfit. This cute t-shirt was super simple and you can have it ready to wear in about an hour!

Grab your red and blue Tulip Fashion Spray and a t-shirt and a white bandanna. Cover your table with plastic before you get going. Next, lay the shirt on the table and pinch the bottom of the shirt into fan folds, and scrunch the top of the shirt. This will make it look like stars and stripes when you're done.

Now, spray red on the bottom of the shirt and blue on the top. Do the same thing to the bandanna. Wait until they're dry and then flip them over to do the back. Let them dry completely, and you're ready to add a cute denim skirt or shorts. The bandanna is cute around your neck but it would look really adorable around a ponytail, too.

All you need now is a sparkler in one hand, and a piece of apple pie in the other!
Happy 4th Everybody!
Pattiewack

Starlight Luminaries Mason Jar DIY

After the fireworks show, light up the night with your creativity! These Starlight Luminaries make the perfect outdoor accent! Dress up old jars with colorful tissue paper and ribbons glued on with Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage™; hang them outdoors for décor that’ll have everyone in the holiday spirit!

Starlight Luminaries
Designed and Decorated by Cheryl Ball

Materials
– Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint™ in 65088 Gold
– Collage Pauge® Instant Decoupage
– Aleene’s® Quick Dry Tacky Glue™
– Foil
– Wire
– Scissors
– Wax paper
– Tissue paper or light cardstock, red, white, & blue
– Glass mason jars
– Plastic

Instructions
1. Protect work surface with plastic bag or paper. Cover immediate area where the jars will be with wax paper.
2. Wash and dry jars.
3. Cut or tear larger pieces of white tissue paper. Cut red and blue tissue paper into strips or stars. Cut enough to wrap around jars.
4. Pour the Matte Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage™ onto foil. Brush onto the jar working on one area at a time. Place white tissue paper onto the jar and brush decoupage onto top of paper. Wet finger in the decoupage and flatten the paper working out any wrinkles or bubbles and make sure the paper is secure all the way around to the back. Cover the whole jar with white tissue in this manner.
5. Choose a strip of red or piece of blue. Apply to the jar in the same method described above but placing so that you achieve the stars or stripes designs. Let dry.
6. Embellish with Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint Gold Glitter.
7. Wrap top of jar with wire to hang.
8. Using the Aleene's® Quick Dry Tacky Glue™, glue on ribbon around jar and at top.

Here's another great design example!



Happy crafting!

Customized Grandparents Puzzle

This Father's Day I think it is equally important to recognize all the grandfathers out there too. After all, there would not be a mommy and a daddy without them. Tallulah's grandparents do not live in Austin so she does not get to see them as often as we would all like. Just because she can't see them in person does not mean she can't see them daily in pictures. This week on I Love to Create we are customizing a puzzle grandpa (and grandma) style!


SUPPLIES
Wood Block Puzzle
Pen
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Packs
Paint Brush
Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage Medium
Scissors
Aleene's Acid Free Tacky Glue
Deco Patch Paper


PRETTY PICTURES
Choose the pictures you want to use in your puzzle. Trace the shapes of the puzzle pieces onto the photographs with a pen. Cut out the picture shapes with scissors and set aside.


PAINT
Paint your puzzle using Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Pack. I opted for a golden yellow, but feel free to get crazy. It took a lot of restraint to not add polka dots. You might need to sand or prime your puzzle first in order for it to take the paint. Also I needed to apply several coats.


DECOUPAGE
Using Deco-Patch paper and Collage Pauge I adorned the tops of my puzzle pieces.


GLUE
Attach your photographs to the puzzle using Aleene's Acid Free Tacky Glue. You might also use some decoupage on top of the photographs to protect them from baby drool.

Fiesta Flower Pot

Folk artists in Mexico are a shining example of what being crafty is all about. They can't simply run to Michaels or Jo-Ann Fabrics for a hunk of fuchsia clay. Instead, our south-of-the-border friends make the most of their resources. The results are shiny, happy, thrifty, and wickedly clever. From painted tequila bottles to glittered cigarette boxes to wood frames trimmed in bottle caps, the materials and concoctions are endless.

I channeled that infectious spirit for this project, and used only what I had on my art table to accessorize a bland flowerpot. Toothpicks and head pins are great for making microdots, and small paint bottles as templates for shapes. The secret to this look is to cram in as many contrasting primary colors as possible.

Materials

Large terra cotta pot
Crafty Chica® Little Chica Paint Packs™
Crafty Chica® Glossy Gloss Varnish™
Cardstock
Scissors
Polymer or air dry clay
Craft knife
Cookie sheet and oven
Head pin or toothpick (for painting small details)
Hot glue

Step 1: Prepare the pot for painting.
Base-coat your pot with a paint color of your choice, then varnish it and let dry. Set aside.

Step 2: Make a template.
Use the bottom of the paint bottle to draw a silver- dollar-sized circle template on the cardstock. Cut out the template.

Step 3: Make the circles.

Working on a clean, flat area, pinch off a hunk of clay, flatten it, and use the template to cut out a circle.

Pinch off another piece of clay and roll it into a long skinny snake, about the size of a spaghetti noodle. Arrange it around the clay circle to look like a border, and cut excess with the craft knife. Add a swirly design of choice in the center and cut off excess. Make 10-12 more.

Step 4: Bake the clay.
Bake in oven according to package directions — usually about 15 minutes at 175 degrees. Remove and let cool.

Step 5: Paint the circles.

Base-coat the circles, then let dry. Add contrasting colors to the top ridges, let dry.

Use the head pin to add dots and squiggles, let dry. Add a coat of brush-on varnish, let dry.

Step 6: Attach the circles.

Hot glue the circles around the rim of the pot. Add more painted designs if desired, and a coat of high gloss varnish for that extra punch.

Variation: Add glitter to your circles, or make them in squares or other shapes. Use the clay to spell out words or other designs. Alternate the sizes of the circles for a crazier effect. If you absolutely must, use rubber or foam stamps on clay circles instead of swirlies.

Peace, love, and glitter!

Kathy :-)

P.S. Check out my new novel!

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: My Dad Rocks Father's Day Card

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts
My Dad Rocks Father's Day Card
Margot Potter
"Mom crafted, kid approved."

School's out for summer around these parts and Father's Day is coming up fast. Where does the time go?! Phew! Here's a great "I'm bored" project for your teens to do that will rock Dad's socks off on his special day. The cost of store bought cards has skyrocketed, this gives Dad a personalized work of art for a fraction of the price of a generic card from the grocery store. Ya gotta love it!


Materials
8.5"x11" card stock in turquoise and acid green
Rock Star stack or similar themed papers
Printed phrase "My Dad Rocks" using Jellyka Castle's Queen Font in 48pt. from www.daFont
Vintage paper (we used an old typing manual)
7 Gypsies numbered gaffer's tape
Scrapbook Adhesives three dimensional stickers
Aleene's original Tacky Glue or Tacky Glue Stick
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Big Phat fabric marker in black
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Paint Cannon fabric paint in black

Tools
Fiskars 2" circle punch
Scissors
Bone folder
Paper cutter

1. Print phrase.

2. Fold blue card stock in half and use bone folder to sharpen crease. Cut folded paper to 6.5w" on a paper cutter.

3. Cut green card stock to a 2"wx5"l. Cut paper with phrase to 1.5"x4.5"l. Adhere phrase to card stock using a VERY thin layer of glue. Allow to dry.

4. Punch circles. I featured the skull and some nautical stars.

5. Hand cut recycled paper circles so they are slightly larger than the punched circles.

6. Use marker and stencil to put chain link pattern across card diagonally from top left to bottom right, you will have to slide the stencil overlapping it to get the full coverage.

7. Use a paintbrush to drip black paint cannon paint on front of card. Use a stylus or other pointed tool to scratch the ink around. Allow ink to drip. Layer this as much as you like, but be mindful that this ink will create texture in the card, so less is more.

8. Adhere circles using a thin layer of Tacky Glue or Tacky Glue stick. The recycled circles first followed by your punched circles set off center, they need to be about 1.75" apart in the center to allow room for the phrase.

9. Attach gaffer's tape to left edge of card.

10. Use dimensional stickers to add phrase to front of card in between the circles on an angle pointing from upper left to lower right corners.

Mailbox Makeover

Life is too short to have a boring mailbox. I'm not saying to glue plastic flamingos all over it with flashing lights (although that would be really cool!), but a little decoration wouldn't hurt! The key to this project is to use Aleene's® Spray Acrylic Sealer™ to seal everything in!

If you don't want to use it as a traditional mailbox, you can set it in your garden or art room to use for storage.

Supplies
- Metal mailbox
-Collage Pauge® Instant Decoupage
- Wrapping or art paper
- Aleene's® Spray Acrylic Sealer™
- Crafty Chica® Little Chica Paint Packs™
- Tulip® Cordless Heat Setting Tool™
- Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™
- Spray paint

Directions

Spray paint the box if desired. Let dry.
Apply Collage Pauge and affix images. Apply more Collage Pauge on top of images. Make sure all the edges of the paper are sealed down. Let dry.
Usepaint to add polka dots around the images, let dry.
Spray with sealer, let dry. Repeat two times to create a thick protective coat.
Apply crystals as desired using the heat set tool.

Happy Father's Day to the Vinyl Record Lovers!

Father's Day is right around the corner, which means I am putting my crafty thinking cap on. Last year I made a customized 6 pack of beer which was a big hit. Today I have project on Craft about how to make etched pint glasses for dad with pictures of his kids (four and two legged). All that was left in the equation was a set of coasters.


Coasters are a little fussy for our house, so I needed to make them a bit different to fit in. Remember the Musical Mustache Masks I made? I had tons of vinyl records left over. I made jewelry with some and a clock with others, but I still have several to spare. The only thing Chris loves more than a cold glass of beer is the warm crackle of a vinyl record - why not combine the two!


SUPPLIES
Vinyl Records
Hot Pad or Glove
Aleene's Spray Acrylic Sealer
Felt
Scissors
Oven
Liquid Fusion Glue
Sand Paper


HOT VINYL
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees. Place your records in the oven and heat until they start to warp. Wearing a glove or using a hot pad take your records out of the oven one at a time and cut with scissors. There will be lines close to the label for you to follow. How much vinyl you leave showing is totally up to you. You may have to heat cut and heat and cut again to get all the way around the center. If your coasters are not flat heat one last time and then place between two books when you take them out of the oven.


ROUGH EDGES
For the most part your scissors will make pretty smooth cuts. If there are any rough edges use sandpaper to smooth it out.


WATERPROOF
Take your coasters outside and spray with Aleene's Spray Acrylic Sealer. Apply two coats allowing to dry completely in-between. This will help protect the label on your coaster from condensation.


SMOOTH BOTTOM
Sure the top looks great, but there is still that pesky hole for water to drip through and onto your table. Trace your circle onto a piece of craft felt and cut out. Glue on un-varnished side of coster.


POUR DAD A COLD ONE
Set your ice cold beer, Big Red or water on your coaster and don't think another thought about table rings. Lord knows dads never did anyway.

What are you making dear old dad this father's day?